1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an athletic ball organizer that enables athletic balls having a variety of sizes and shapes to be organized, displayed or stored.
2. Description of Related Art
Many sports and other recreational activities utilize a ball as a part of the game, and different sports and recreational games utilize balls of varying sizes and shapes. For example, basketballs, volleyballs and kickballs are all spherical in shape but have different sizes. Other sports such as football and rugby utilize balls that are not spherical in shape. One challenge experienced by homeowners and athletic facilities is that balls having a variety of shapes and sizes must be stored in a convenient and accessible manner when not in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,684 by Galowitz discloses a rack for holding a plurality of balls in a compact array. The device is particularly useful for the storage and transport of bocce balls.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,101 by Shaftner et al. discloses a sports ball storage device that is adapted to be mounted on a pole or other structural member for containing at least one sports ball when the ball is not in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,951 by Hunt discloses a basketball storage device that is also adapted to be mounted to a pole or other support member, such as a pole supporting a basketball net.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,433 by Crum discloses a cylindrical storage unit adapted to contain sport balls where the balls are completely enclosed within the storage unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,461 by Dunagan et al. also discloses a ball storage apparatus for storing a sports ball. The device is adapted to be mounted on a pole or support member such as a pole supporting a basketball net.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0124562 by Simonetta Kurcheski discloses a mountable ball holder that mounts to a support structure to receive and retain a single athletic ball.
There are several problems associated with these and other devices for the storage of balls. For example, structurally rigid devices occupy a significant volume of space even when the device is not being utilized to store balls. Some of these devices are rigidly mounted into position and require the use of tools to move the device from one location to another. Further, many of these devices are not able to accommodate balls of different shapes and sizes, such as may be necessary in a home garage. In addition, many of these devices require the removal of one or more unwanted balls from the device in order to access a desired ball that is disposed within the device.